


Un/Settled

by sickofsora



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, reconciliation in the form of co-sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25473004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sickofsora/pseuds/sickofsora
Summary: They used to sleep together, before. There wasn't even a question - Taako's night terrors would take hold and any one of the birds would find him and soothe him. It was second nature. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, Lucretia missed this.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Un/Settled

When Lucretia hears Taako’s screams on the base, she has to catch herself halfway down her hall. What could she do, now, in this situation? Before, there'd be no question. Whoever reached him first would lay with Taako for the rest of the night, and they’d both sleep better for it. But now? She was his boss. Madame Director. A stranger. Not only would it be wildly inappropriate to join him, it would raise suspicions, certainly at the cost of whatever comfort it would bring him. Things like that can’t be redacted. She was already playing with burning hands by befriending the three of them, anything more would be greedy.

So she turned heel and returned to her chambers to sleep alone.

Some nights, by chance, she found herself in a similar fit. Not quite as loud or as large as Taako’s, but she does wake up in a cold sweat, tears burning her sleep addled eyes, and visions of the Hunger descending upon her friends just beginning to recede. But she's left with the wild beat of her heart, fear a cloak clinging to her tighter than her sweat soaked nightgown. She is awake, now, with no hope of returning to sleep, her mind wandering back to night after lonely night alone, on the ship, with Fisher. Alone, as she fought tooth and nail to survive every single day. Alone, as she contemplated giving up. That guilt lays with her nightly, tortures her waking mind. She can't even imagine what demons Taako wrestles with.

Later, after the Fight and all the little fights that came after it, after forgiveness was woven into each ache Lucretia carried in her body, she finds herself awoken by Taako's unrest, again. On autopilot, she seeks his room out of everyone's in the compound, and her hand is turning the knob, pulling it before she's fully cognizant.

She pauses. He's paused as well, sitting up abruptly, wordless, motionlessly watching her until she no longer held his gaze. 

“...My apologies, Taako, I shouldn-” She starts, but he stops her with a hand, one that slides through his mess of hair and finds purchase on the otherwise unoccupied bed. 

“Just. Stop, Lucretia,” He says, tired, exhausted. Taako doesn’t miss a beat, rolling over just as he'd done thousands of times, leaving more than enough room for her to crawl into bed behind him, just as she’d done thousands of times. 

Lucretia slowly moves to slot into place behind him, and it feels like coming home. She feels 20 again, a bit too green for the mission she was assigned to, letting others guide her. The only thing missing is Magnus or Lup at her back, though their sleeping arrangements often changed. But this hadn’t. She could feel Taako physically relax, she slides an arm over his midsection and he snatches her hand. Greedy as always.

Lucretia smiled behind him, blanketed by the dimness of his room, and laid still, content to let him drift while she savored this moment, afraid it would be her last time holding her friend like this. She should know better by now.

“Krav’s on a mission,” Taako starts, rousing her back to consciousness. She makes a committal sound. “so don’t get used to this.” He said, of course, as if he was doing her a favour. Which he absolutely was.

The following morning Lucretia stirred, still curled over Taako, feeling more refreshed than she’d been in ages. She let herself indulge in a few more moments in his bed before fully waking up, ready to leave. She asked the time, to which a fully awake Taako replied sometime around noon-ish. Which meant she slept much longer than the usual four hours Taako normally meditated, much longer than she'd initially intended to be here, which means she sleep cuddled up next to him for roughly 10 hours, which means she’s not only overslept but also intruded. It's a lot to take in.

She rush to let go, anticipating his discomfort, but he merely stretched and yawned cat-like, stirring familiar memories. Lucretia motioned to get up and give him some space, satisfied that he hadn't turned her away in the night, but Taako grabbed her arm before she could leave, pulling her back to bed. Still greedy.

**Author's Note:**

> I 100% do not remember if Taako had night terrors during Stolen Century but uh, lets just say he did, yes? Anyway, I wanted Lucretia and Taako to have a friendship again so *gestures vaguely at fic*


End file.
